Show Me A Hero, I'll Write You A Tragedy
by December-Apples
Summary: Neal would do anything to help Peter and Elizabeth. Even if it meant his own life in exchange for Elizabeth's life. But now she's safe, and only her, Moz, Neal, & Keller know what really happened that night. And only Keller knows if Neal's dead or alive.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer- *insert witty way of saying I don't own White Collar here*

AN- This was born of a prompt on tumblr (see link at bottom of chapter.) It's _not _Peter/Neal or Neal/Elizabeth. Technically, its post-'Countdown', written in honor of Tuesday, but I know it's gonna be AU from before&after it so…Please review(:

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><p><em>Neal looked deep into Elizabeth's dark brown eyes, his blue eyes filled with such determination and sadness that it shattered her heart. She had no idea what her husband had said or done to make Neal think that this was his entire fault. He hadn't told Keller to kidnap her, the man had just done it, Of course, he had taken the Nazi treasure and conned them, but she had long ago accepted the Neal did make mistakes, like all humans did. Elizabeth took each slip up in stride, and this was no different.<em>

"_Elizabeth, we need to go." He whispered his voice hoarse. Blood and sweat dripped down his face. "Please! I don't know when Keller is getting back and we need to move!" The brunette woman nodded, staggering to her feet. Her head swam slightly, but she shoved it aside._

"_Which way out?" She asked, turning into the logical FBI agent-wife she was. "And I need some sort of a weapon in case his thugs come back."_

_The con-man threw her a smile, obviously pleased she was coming, and handed her a pipe. Neal then reached into his pocket and pulled out a handgun. It fit nicely into his hand, like an old friend, but there was a flash of discomfort in his eyes as he cocked it and moved towards the door._

"_Let me go first." The C.I. whispered, easing open the door. "You follow as I take out the guards."_

"_Neal, honey…" El started, but didn't finish the sentence. Whatever Peter had said had done the trick. He would get her out, even if it cost him his own life. "Go ahead."_

_The blue eyes begged forgiveness and his mouth turned into an apologetic smile. He turned the door handle and slipped into the hallway with his former best friend's wife at his heels._

Elizabeth Burke sat up with a choked cry, the image of her almost-son's face battered and sad burned into her eyelids. Beside her, her husband lay asleep and completely oblivious. Only days had passed since her rescue by Neal and Peter had never let her out of his sight. He didn't know what Neal had done to save her. All him and the FBI knew was that Neal had somehow got her out, and vanished into the night. They didn't know what happened that night. The only people that did know were the thugs, Keller, Neal, her, and Moz. She slid out of bed and stumbled as quietly as she could down the stairs to her living room. Ripping open the desk drawer, she rifled through her papers until she found the glossy photo she'd taken just months before Keller took her. Neal had been 'researching' until he had fallen asleep on the file and her husband had just nodded off beside him. She had been pleasantly surprised to come home and find them not only home, but asleep next to each other. A tear rolled down her cheek, dripped onto Neal's fedora.

"Oh Neal…" The brunette whispered "You should be helping Peter catch cons, not laying there all cold and…"

"It's not fair, really." A voice cut in, causing El to slam the drawer and whirl around. She found herself face to face with Moz. As soon as Neal had told the smaller man what he was doing, he had come racing back to try and stop him, but it had been too late. Elizabeth had told him what happened, and they had grown close in the following days. "He shouldn't have…"

The con didn't finish the sentence, just let it hang there and fill up the room.

"A man as beautiful and passionate about the people he loves shouldn't have to choose between them." Elizabeth whispered bitterly, turning back to the photograph on lying on the table. She glared at it in the gloom of the early morning. "Neal deserved the best, but all the best wanted him, either the con-man or the consultant. He had to choose between the two lives he loved, and no matter how many times he tried to have both, he couldn't."

"I shouldn't have let him be tempted by Keller." Moz said quietly, his guilt almost tangible in his voice. "I shouldn't have tempted him. I just wanted my Neal back. He was so close to you and the Suit and Sara." He sighed and sat down onto a chair at the table, he face in his hands. "Now he's gone, and none of us get to have him."

Elizabeth turned away from the picture and to Neal's best friend. She moved quickly, sinking in the chair next to him and taking one of his hands. A crystalline tear rolled down one of his cheeks, startling her. All the time she had spent with Neal and Mozzie, the brunette woman had never seen the duo cry. It was then she realized that Peter and she weren't the only ones who had thought of themselves as Neal's parents.

"Before Neal…" Elizabeth started, causing Moz's head to jerk up. "He told me, 'In every shadow there is a light. In every tear, a smile. In death I know there still is life that lingers for a while…'"

The small man gave a small laugh, brushing the single tear away.

"That was Neal's favorite quote. One of those amazing, anonymous sayings."

El gave a grin as she stood and moved towards the kitchen, taking down too mugs and filling them with coffee she had set to make before she slept knowing full well she wouldn't sleep.

"He's not dead." She stated gently. "And he didn't run."

"I know. You told me what happened" The con-man replied. "All we have to do is prove ourselves right."

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><p>To Be Continued…<p>

Not too bad right?

Anyways, please review(:

And here's the link to the prompt: i-am-the-morticians-daughter .tumblr .com/post/15809447053/white-collar-neal-would-do-anything-to-help-peter


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- nope.

Author Note- Elizabeth's a little OOC in the following conversation, but when talking to a… oh you'll find out why eventually. Thanks for the amazing reviews, alerts, and favorites. The positive response blew me away(: And yes, to the reviewer who asked, it really was an anon. quote.

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><p>"Hi Mrs. Burke! So nice to see you up and about without the little con and the scary FBI agent hovering over your shoulder!"<p>

El's head shot up, her eyes locking onto a pair of shimmering green ones. A young blonde woman stood there, her hand resting on the chair opposite the event planner. Underneath her jean jacket, a handgun rested visible enough for Elizabeth to see it.

"Awww. Don't tell me you aren't happy to see me Ellie!" the gun-toting woman faux pouted, laughter glimmering in her eyes. "I missed you so much when pesky Caffrey took you away from me and Matt."

"Get away from me." Elizabeth growled, her hand darting to her phone on the table. "I can have the entire FBI squad here with the press of a button, Juliet, and they will put so many bullet holes in you that Matthew Keller would mistake you for slut-sized Swiss cheese." (**AN- I guess that's OOC for El, but you'll discover why she's so hostile to Juliet later.) **

"You know I'll disappear before they get here." The blonde smirked as she slid into the seat across El. "Maybe I'll shoot one or two before I go. You know how good I am with a gun. Could hit a blue eyed man in a suit from half a mile."

Elizabeth paled, her jaw hanging slightly open.

"You do remember, don't you?" The southern blonde whispered, leaning over the table. "The way he cried out. The way he crumpled to the ground. The way he begged for your forgiveness. Oh how you screamed when he was pulled away…" She let out a giggle, snagging a fry from Burke's plate and drawing back to her side of the table. "Now maybe, we can work out an arrangement. You have what I want that Neal and you took, and I have what you want."

"I don't want anything from you." Elizabeth snapped, fixating a glare on the woman across from her. "Nothing. You are nothing but a trained killer with a rich boss."

"Oh you know you do! You want what I took from you that night. That one irreplaceable thing that you're so desperate to have again." Juliet sighed as she stood up. "I'll be in touch Ellie. See you around!"

Then with a blown kiss, the southern bell was gone. Elizabeth ran a trembling hand through her hair. Juliet was no fool; she wouldn't dare try to contact her while with Peter or Mozzie. The con man was intensely paranoid so he would suspect something immediately and Peter was an FBI agent. Hit-women and assassins who work for people like Matthew Keller didn't do rookie things like that.

_Elizabeth followed Neal closely as he lead her through the hallways, so far he'd taken out 6 thugs in a way that would put a ninja lord to shame with only a chair, a set of stairs and a railing, and his gun. He was clearly an expert hand to hand combat master, but Peter had said he loathed violence. _

"_Here." The man interrupted her thoughts, pointing at a door. "In here is Keller's main hard drive. He keeps important documents, pictures, data, etc. on it." He glanced back at her to see if she was following his train of thought._

"_We're going to break in and steal the hard drive?" She quizzed him, her face the picture of puzzlement. _

"_Nope. I'm gonna break in and download its contents onto this." The con held up a small metal object, about the size of a horizontal PDA only with a touchscreen instead of a keypad. "You are going to wait right there with this."_

_He motioned to a small alcove hidden from the cameras and handed El his gun. _

"_If anyone comes-"Caffrey started, but Elizabeth interrupted._

"_Shoot them in the knees and call for you." She finished with a small, sad smile. "Go. I'll be fine. Hurry though."_

_Five minutes passed, and suddenly the door to the computer room was blown off its hinges and Neal Caffrey came stumbling out with mini-drive in hand._

"_I think they might have heard that." He said, flashing a grin which she returned. "Shall we go Mrs. Burke?"_

"_Why yes Mister Caffrey." El giggled as she handed him his gun back. Their hands brushed and eyes locked, and suddenly the banter was gone. Neal shrunk back with the shutters sealed in his eyes again and the shadows coating his face. The man she knew wasn't completely broken, just cracked. All she had to do was fix him. He motioned towards down the hallway, and they crept towards what the duo hoped was the exit._

"_Matt. We have a situation." Juliet snapped as she stalked into the blue-collar con's office, gun loaded and cocked. "Caffrey broke in, has Elizabeth Burke, and blew up the Serenity hard drive. I think he might have copied it."_

_Matthew Keller whirled around, his eyes flaring in rage._

"_The guards? Thugs for hire?" he ground out stonily, reaching down for a gun of his own._

_The blonde rolled her eyes._

"_This is Caffrey we're talking about." She spat "He's the best of the best in non-violent conning, and he's trained with the best for combat. They fell like dominos pushed by a mammoth."_

"_Well then Jules." Keller sighed, tucking his gun into his holster and snapping it closed. "We have got work to do. You get into your position, ready for the shot. I'll get some men. Be ready to take Caffrey down."_

_The blonde smiled coldly, sadistic pleasure glinting in her eyes._

"_Bout time the killin' started." She called backwards as she sauntered out._

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><p>To Be Continued…<p>

Not to OOC for El? I hope not.

Review Please?


	3. Chapter 3

_Disclaimer- No. Just No._

_AN- What did you guys think of Deadline? I loved it, especially Neal as Captain American. So this chapter took me an extra day because it's almost double length so I really would like to get a lot of reviews. If you'd review, it'd be amazing. _

_And thanks for all the alerts, favorite, and reviews I've gotten. I really appreciate them._

Two days passed uneventfully.

A normal person after being kidnapped and held hostage by a rival con of your almost-son and his 21 year old gun-slinging partner would be relieved to have two days rest without having said blonde come for a visit.

Under El's circumstances, it made her all the more edgy. What Juliet wanted, Juliet got. She made sure the doors were locked and kept Peter, Mozzie, and Diana on speed dial. A baseball bat was tucked in the front closet, the spare key in the gutter was removed, and curtains were drawn at night. The nightmares of that night came with relentless intensity and Peter was beginning to notice her slipping composure.

_Elizabeth stared vacantly at the wall, her mind drifting off. _

_That night they had a bottle of wine, more specifically, Bordeaux. _

_Neal's favorite kind._

_She was sure Peter hadn't noticed. He probably saw a good bottle of wine and opened it, not thinking of the blue eyed con man. El had drunk it, but she felt like she was betraying Neal. Each sip tasted like ash, and the red liquid sloshed in the bottle like blood. _

"_El, you okay?" Peter queried, sitting slowly next to her. He looked into her eyes, passion and love radiated and danced in the brown orbs. "You've been a little out of it these couple days. I mean, just drifting off and your work friends have noticed too and…"_

_Elizabeth smiled at Peter's awkwardness at emotional talk. For a man who was so stellar at reading criminals and earning Neal's respect and adoration, he was clueless at how to talk to his own wife about feelings._

"_I'm okay sweetheart, just…" El let the sentence trail off, caught in turmoil. One part of her was screaming to tell Peter the truth about Keller and Juliet and Neal. The other, which sounded strikingly similar to Neal in her head, begged to just forget all about it and move on with her life. _

"_Just what, hun?" His hand tightened around hers, making the brunette woman flinch internally at the memory of how Neal had clutched at her hand after meeting Juliet. _

"_Oh nothing." Elizabeth smiled, patting his hand affectionately. "Just contemplating the mysteries of the universe." At her husband's disbelieving look, she gave him a peck on the cheek and went to the attached bathroom. "I'm fine honey. You know that. I've got my FBI knight in shining armor. What else do I need?"_

_When the bathroom door closed, the smile slipped off her face and Neal's face and a small hard drive flashed across her mind's eye. _

"So, Mrs. Suit." Mozzie called as he stepped out from behind a tree with a newspaper shielding his face. "Any particular reason you are asking to meet me here of all places?"

Elizabeth glanced up at the ornate house they were standing outside of, and then glanced back at the small con. After enduring another day of silence on the Keller end, the brunette was taking matters into her own hands. If Neal knew about the hard drive, where she was, and the schematics of the hideout, that means he must have done his research somewhere. The FBI would have searched his room at June's, but El had a sneaking suspicion the woman knew more than she told the agents.

Also, if Keller or Neal had left something for them, they would have put it somewhere where only she or Moz could find it.

"Neal knew everything about the hideout when he rescued me." Elizabeth stated calmly, letting Moz step alongside her and walk up the stairs to June's home. "He must have done research. If he had notes on this 'Serenity' hard drive, knowing what he knew could be useful in getting him back."

The con man stopped dead three feet from the door.

"And what?" he gaped, not bothering to hide his skepticism. "First off, suits already searched the place. Secondly, June has probably gotten rid of everything. Third, why are we getting him back and not the FBI?"

Elizabeth whirled on the smaller man, her normally calm disposition flaring rapidly into an impassioned fury.

"First off," She snapped, causing Moz to flinch back in shock. "You know if Neal wanted to hide something from the FBI, he could. Secondly, June loved Neal. If she still has Bryon's suits, I bet she kept whatever she could that was Neal's. Third, because as far as the FBI knows, Neal took off running that night. They would want to interrogate and follow the playbook, which we don't have time for."

Elizabeth stopped and turned to the door.

"I didn't protect Neal that night. I should have. I will do whatever it takes to get him back."

Mozzie gazed at her, admiration and awe written across his face. Any thoughts he had ever had about the female Burke being weak were obliterated and replaced with the fire of her loyalty. She was a better friend to Neal than he was.

"Okay El." He said, shifting his focus back to the current situation. "We'll talk to June; search the apartment, and then what? The hard drive is encoded, so maybe I should ask around and see who the best of the best at hacking is?"

"Okay." She replied simply, the burning fury gone from her voice. Elizabeth pressed the doorbell then turned back to Moz. "Sorry I snapped at you." A pink tinge had flooded her cheeks, causing a similar one to flood Mozzie's.

"You had every right to. You were there that night. I wasn't. If you say Neal is alive and we need to get him back, then I should damn well listen Mrs. Suit."

Elizabeth beamed at the con man, who returned the sentiment. A passerby who only knew of the duo's reputations would have been astounded at how well they got on. An expert con man whose lust for treasure had driven the FBI-agent's party-panning wife to be kidnapped was hardly a typical pair of friends. In fact, they wouldn't have been friends if Neal hadn't brought them together.

And since Neal had brought them together, they would bring him home.

Juliet Tyler smirked happily to herself as she gazed at the CCTV feed trained on the Burke household. Peter wouldn't be home for hours, and Elizabeth had left the house to go meet with Caffrey's friend and talk about whatever they talked about. They were, without a doubt, scheming and plotting to try and locate Neal.

She didn't have a fear in the world however. Matt had known that he would need someplace to hide in New York once this business with the Burkes and Caffrey was cleared up so he had set up the safe house. Admittedly, the business has extended longer than expected, but nonetheless.

"Still gazing away at Peter's house?" Keller's familiar voice called the doorway. "It's been two days since you told Mrs. Burke about what we want and that we have what she wants. Go persuade her some."

Juliet smiled and turned to Matt. He was still cast in shadow in the doorway, but she could feel his impatience at not having access to his Serenity drive and his frustration at his condition.

"Patience, Matt, was never one of your virtues." The blonde stood from her chair and sauntered over to the con. "We have what we need to make her co-operate. If push comes to shove, I'll jog down and leave a few cryptic letters. If I start shooting, Burke is going to catch on and the FBI will get involved."

The two began moving slowly down the hallway in silence, each caught up in contemplation. Juliet knew Elizabeth was first gonna search for Neal and deal with her second. She also knew that the woman would try and keep her husband out of these dealings as long as possible. No matter how many times the wife would prove she could handle herself moderately, Peter would always mother hen over her and treat her like glass. If she told him what happened, he'd drag the FBI into it, and El would be left on the sidelines with no input in the proceedings.

And if that happened, either Peter and his FBI agents would get shot down or any hope she had of precious Caffrey being alive would be squished.

Matthew Keller's phone rang, jerking both of the criminals from their thoughts.

"Keller here."

"We have a problem." A gravelly voice on the other side of the line replied in a monotone. "You and Ms. Tyler need to get to the containment area now. It's Caffrey."

Matt snapped the phone shut in irritation and moved down the hallway in a whirlwind with Juliet trailing quickly. When he reached the steel doors, they slid open and in the middle of the room stood a thin man. He was pale and small with thin wire glasses and a head of thinning brown hair.

"Speak." Keller snapped when he reached the quivering man.

However, it was the gravelly voice that spoke instead from behind them.

"Caffrey has emerged from his coma." The large man said, his voice as flat as his face was emotionless. "Dr. Hunt didn't realize what was happening until it was too late. All we can do for now is keep pumping sedatives into him."

"He'll stay out though?" Juliet cut into the conversation as Matthew moved towards the hospital bed in the corner of the room where Neal Caffrey lay asleep.

"As long as we keep the medicine flowing and Hunt doesn't mess up." The man replied, causing the doctor to shrink back in terror.

Juliet gave them both a curt nod. She hated working with others, excluding Matthew of course, but Ricardo was excellent muscle and Hunt, despite his cowardice and sniveling ways, was a genius surgeon.

Which was luckier than ever now that Keller needed one if he ever wanted to escape the wheelchair that Elizabeth Burke had confined him to.

_Okay, I put so much work into this chapter, I would really love some reviews._

_Like, seriously, if I don't get some nice ones, I might cry._

_Anyways, review please?_

_-D.A._


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer- nope.

AN- This chapter (aside from the ending) is not my best work. However, what happened to Neal is revealed so it's worth reading in my opinion. The reviews I got were stellar, you guys are beautiful people.

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><p><em>Neal stirred in his warm cocoon. Familiar voices drifted up above him, but none that he could work up the energy to place their identities. Besides he was busy. He had to…<em>

_What did he have to do?_

_It was important. Really important. _

_A brunette woman and man stirred through his mind. It had something to do with them…_

_He had save…_

_A rush of warmth burned through his mind. It was nice, the warmth. _

_Neal slipped away into darkness again._

Elizabeth bit her lip as she ran her fingers over the painting on the easel. The paint was smooth in appearance, but rough to the touch from blending and layers and brushstrokes. But the texture wasn't what had stunned her into speechlessness. It was the actual work. It was her and Peter sitting on a bench, his arm draped over her shoulders and her head tilted into the crook of his neck. The sun was setting in a multitude of shimmering shades of red, orange, yellow, and purple over a crystal blue and turquoise lake. Sandy beaches sprawled along the shores, and surrounding the bench was thick green grass that was speckled with white flowers. Tucked in the corner was a cursive 'N.C.' and right below it were the words, 'thank you.'

"Neal's been working on that for weeks." Mozzie said, breaking from his search of the bookcase. The con had already checked their usual places for hiding things and was breaking off into searching the entire place. June had told them the FBI had already searched the entire place, but she wasn't going to clean it out yet. She had agreed with El that Neal was still alive.

"There's a fine line between denial and hope." The dark woman said simply as she unlocked the room and placed the key into El's hand. Her dark eyes had the simple truth of a mother's love for her son. "I find it's much nicer on hope's side."

"It's the longest I've ever seen him work on something and so dedicatedly other than the portrait of Kate. He was leaving it for you and the Suit." Moz grimaced and turned away. He hated having to look at what basically was the equivilant of Neal's will. The blue eyed man was far too young to have been ready to die or have to leave everyone he cared about behind. Although, he supposed that after the loss of Kate, Sara, and then the Suit and the wife, he must have believed he had nothing left.

The same way he thought he had nothing left when he went after Fowler about the whole Kate thing…

_Kate._

_The portrait of Kate._

"Oh they love the classics, those two." Moz gasped, turning and grabbing the painting of Kate Moreau off the wall. Flipping it to the backside, the con man pried up the back of the frame, revealing a brown envelope addressed, 'to whom it may concern.'

"That's it!" Elizabeth cried, her hands reaching to grab the envelope. In trembling fingers, she ripped open the sealing and removed 3 tan folders, each labeled in Neal's perfect script, plans, people, and Serenity. She quickly opened the Serenity folder, letting her blue eyes take in the print. Mozzie turned and flipped open the file labeled People. Pictures were stapled to biographies. The first one was a pretty blonde perched on a bench.

"That's Juliet." El whispered, her voice hollow. "That's the woman who… she's the one who…"

The previously expressively happy blue eyes now reflected only horror and the deadness of a PTSD soldier. She snatched the photo, glaring into the woman.

"She's the one who shot Neal."

_Elizabeth turned, seeing Neal run towards her with the pocket computer he'd plugged into Keller's computer earlier. The front of his trademark suit was drenched in blood, where from she didn't know. The actual jacket he'd wrapped around her after the explosion. _

"_Guards are taken care of." He whispered breathlessly as he approached. "They're chasing the decoy. We should get moving"_

_The female Burke nodded and grabbed his shaking hand. The blue-eyed man smiled, the shadows lifting all too briefly from his features. _

"_You have to know I never wanted this to happen, Elizabeth." He whispered, shifting his gaze down to the handheld electronic. "I promise, once you're safe I'll vanish and you'll never hear from me again. I'll use the data on this to track Keller down and make sure he never hurts you again."_

"_Neal-"_

_A gunshot rang out, interrupting Elizabeth. It was then she realized that the con had staggered and hadn't drawn his gun._

"_No!" Elizabeth gasped, dropping to her knees. Blood was already pooling on his drenched shirt, his fingers were losing their sweet warmth. "Neal, hey sweetie look at me! LOOK AT ME!" The last three words left the normally calm women's mouth in a panicked shriek. Caffrey's blue eyes rolled towards her, more expressive than she'd ever seen. Hopelessness, joy, sadness, disappointment, and guilt tumbled through the glassy orbs and tore at her heart._

"_El." Neal gasped, sliding a cold metal device into her hands._

_The computer._

"_Don't you dare let them have this. Get it to Moz, then forget all about it." A single ruby drop of blood dripped out of his mouth, sliding down his chin. "I'm so sorry. I shoulda… I-"_

_The con broke off in a coughing fit, and Elizabeth didn't bother hiding her tears. _

"_It's not your fault, honey." She whispered, leaning down over his face. "Don't you ever think it's your fault. You saved my life. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten caught. It's my fault. I…" _

_The blue eyed con placed a trembling finger on her lips, letting the rest of the words fade away._

"_In every shadow there is a light. In every tear, a smile. In death I know there still is life that lingers for a while." He shuddered, tightening his grip on her hand. "You're safe. Safe… Safe… Tell Peter…" Caffrey gasped again, "Tell Peter 'm sorry." _

_His grip went slack, and his gaze burned into hers, saying so much more than his words._

"_Neal. Neal, don't you dare give up on me. NEAL!" Elizabeth screamed, slapping his face desperately. "Don't leave me!"_

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><p>Okay. The only part of this chapter I actually like is the ending.<p>

Review please?


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- nope.

AN- wow, this took way too long and I apologize. Completely unacceptable.

Anyways, this chapter is once again, double length to make up for it, and the truth behind Keller's injury is unveiled. Thanks for the reviews, you guys are stellar. Do you think we could make it to 52? That's 12 reviews.

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><p>"Well now, Mr. and the Mrs. Suit are out to lunch, all sweet and innocent." Juliet's singsong voice drifted through the couple's conversation. The blonde woman practically floated over to the table and plopped onto the chair across. "Hi Ellie! Miss me? What's it been now, 4 days since you saw me?"<p>

Elizabeth froze horrified, her jaw dropping. This was just like Juliet, just like Keller. Drag Peter into this, or force her to lie to her own husband. She could feel Peter's eyes trained on her. This was so bad.

"Juliet, what are you doing here?" She ground out coldly as the brunette regained her composure. Blue eyes glared into green ones, and brown flickered between the two women and his gun. "You know my answer."

"You see Mrs. Burke," the blonde sighed, kicking her feet up onto the table. She had a maniacal glint in her eyes that, despite how malicious and violent she had been before, was giving her a deranged look. Her smile was a knowing smirk that screamed bad news. "I asked politely. Then I tried to bargain. You've pushed our patience and now we're done playing. Give me Serenity, or I'll kill you, your darling husband, the hacker you hired, and both of your precious cons."

"What is going on?" Peter interrupted before El could snarl something impolite in retaliation. At the mention of Neal and Peter, he'd tensed up and a suspicious glare had overtaken his concerned one. "Who are you, what is Serenity, and what does Neal and Mozzie and my wife have to do with a hacker?"

Both women ignored the FBI agent.

"You leave my husband out of this." Elizabeth snapped, but a malicious smile growing. "Tell me, how is Matthew Keller enjoying life on the sidelines? Is it how he imagined? Or has the injury and missing beach put a damper on the life of leisure?" She gazed meanly at the blonde woman across her. By now, Peter had given up trying to figure out what was going on, but at Keller's name his hand went to his gun.

Juliet stood up in a flurry, the confident woman façade switching instantaneously to dangerously pissed off. In the back of her mind, the brunette woman realized that bringing the blue-collar con's injury into the conversation wasn't a good idea but the vicious, catty side of her delighted in pissing off the gun-slinger. Suddenly, both Peter and Juliet yanked out their guns, but only one shot fired, clipping Peter in the shoulder and sending him to the ground.

"Peter!" Elizabeth jumped to her feet and moved around the table to his side. Besides gritting his teeth in pain from the slight wound, the FBI agent looked relatively un-injured.

"Well, ain't that just desserts now aren't it?" Juliet laughed in a voice that sounded less than sane. El whirled around, her eyes darkened in fury. Peter gripped his gun tightly in his hand next to her, raising it unsteadily. "You shot the man in my life, now I've shot yours. Except that mine's in a wheelchair. Guess I'll have to take out my annoyance at missing his heart on the little one. He's with Ray, right?" With a tilt of her head and a grin, the blonde vanished down the street.

"Hun, what is going on?" Peter asked, gripping his shoulder. His eyes held pent up confusion with a hint of anger. Elizabeth helped him to his feet, her mind whirling with Juliet saying she was going after Mozzie and the hacker he hired, Ray, and memories of Neal being shot by Juliet. "Who was she, and what does she have to do with Keller, the little guy, and Neal?"

"Peter," The brunette gasped, gripping his hand tightly and looking deep into his eyes. "Juliet is going after Mozzie and Ray. I'll explain everything after we save them." Peter gazed back at her, worry and love written through his features.

"I promise."

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><p>Mozzie frowned, glancing behind him for the fifth time in a few minutes. He knew he was paranoid, but his gut was screaming at him something was wrong. Ray was working down the hall on his laptop, trying to do something way more technologically advanced than him, and he had taken Neal's flash drive down to the work room to see if it contained some sort of unlocking strip inside. Not long after he left, Moz had thought he heard a shout from Ray's room. The paranoid voice screamed to run, but the logic, which sounded like Neal's voice, said to relax and keep quiet. He was swaying more and more towards the paranoid side as the odd noises became more frequent.<p>

Turning around, Mozzie slid silently down the hall and into Ray's room, where he found computers smashed to bits and a blood trail.

"Ray?" the con called, tucking the Serenity drive into his pocket. "Ray, you here?"

"Sorry, Raymondo isn't in right now, but if you leave a message I'll be sure to let you pass it on to him in the afterlife." A female voice giggled from the shadows. A slender blonde woman stepped out, twirling a gun in one hand. She had an oversized pair of sunglasses covering her eyes and Ray's precious top hat on her head.

"Let me guess." Moz said, crossing his arms over his chest. "Juliet Tyler aged 25, top of the line gunslinger, and the partner of Matthew Keller. Throw in a bit of terrorizing Mrs. Suit and shooting my best friend, and I really don't like you."

She laughed again, and a chill ran down the small man's back. This woman had to either be insane or just liked to act it.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Mozzie." Juliet smiled. She cocked her gun. "It's a shame I won't have time to get to know you better. I could have told you all the lovely things Mrs. Burke didn't tell you about that night. What happened after Neal was shot, things like that."

"What are you talking about?" Moz hissed, his eyes never leaving the gun. It suddenly dawned on him why Neal refused to carry a gun. It wasn't fun to have on pointed at you. "You took Neal, and the FBI got her."

She made a disapproving noise with her tongue.

"So cute and innocent you are of what Elizabeth did. The blood on her hands wasn't just Neal's actual blood." Juliet slid across the room, running her finger across the con's shoulders. "Mrs. Burke did something terrible."

"Terrible by your definition." The smaller man protested, feeling a swell of pride for the Suit's wife. Whatever she had done, it was causing problems for Keller and Juliet which was as good as gold in his book. "I bet whatever terrible thing she did, they had it coming."

"Thanks Mozzie." El's voice came from the doorway. The con turned to see her and the Suit, very well alive but worse for wear. The Suit was bandaged around his shoulder, but his gun was steady. She had a smile on her face, relief evident in her eyes. "Where's Ray?"

"He went into the light." Juliet sang lightly, causing Elizabeth to tense. "Just another death in this battle. It would have been prevented had you just given me what I want. Instead you don't, and more get hurt."

"How about you give us Neal back, and then let Peter arrest you and Keller?" Elizabeth hissed, stepping towards her. Peter cocked his gun and raised it to the blonde's head level.

Juliet sighed.

"Suddenly, I feel less than welcome." She raised her gun and fired three shots, one hitting each light bulb. Peter got off two, one rebounding off of the wall and nailing Juliet in the leg. She darted out the door however, and for the second time, vanished.

"El, what is going on?" Peter questioned, sitting down onto a chair in the hallway. The normally confident FBI agent looked confused, annoyed, and a little sad. Most likely that he was left out of the loop regarding what happened.

"Mrs. Suit, I wouldn't normally ask, but Juliet said there was blood on your hands other than Neal's and…" Moz drifted off, the same confusion in his eyes that was there when the brunette first told him the Neal wasn't coming back to June's any time soon.

Elizabeth nodded, letting a tremor run through her.

"I'll tell you."

* * *

><p><em>Keller's men grabbed Neal's body around the torso, dragging it towards the remnants of the warehouse.<em>

"_DON'T YOU TOUCH HIM! NEAL!" El screamed, her hysterical voice carrying loudly. Tears of fury and anguish poured from her enraged blue eyes and her fists were clenched so tight, her nails dug through her skin and drew her blood. "YOU BASTARDS! LET HIM GO! GET AWAY FROM HIM! NEAL!"_

_Suddenly, the arms restraining her were gone and El whirled around to see Keller standing 10 feet away with a smug grin on his face._

"_Sorry Mrs. Burke, you know I didn't want this to happen." The con shrugged, holding his hands out in a, 'what could I do' gesture. "My demands were really very simple. Your con's friend hands me the treasure, and you walk away. I was even gonna keep up my end of the bargain."_

_Elizabeth stood there, Neal's blood sticky on her hands and clothes. Not a coherent thought was going through her mind, all that was there was- You son of a bitch. Her blue eyes burned furiously into Keller's._

"_You heartless monster." She hissed, trembling out of a mixture of terror, anguish, and fury. She no longer cared about Matthew Keller hurting her. All she cared about right now is the man who had been ripped from her arms and that fact that his blood stained her hands._

_The blue collar con's grin widened._

"_Alright Elizabeth Burke, we'll do this the hard way." He began to reach for his gun which was tucked in his belt loop._

"_Fine." El mimicked coldly. "We'll do this the hard way."_

_The gun Neal had been carrying all of a sudden appeared in her hands._

"_This is for Neal you son of a bitch."_

_A bang resounded through the air._

_Keller crumpled to the ground, followed shortly by Elizabeth. She just sat there in an exhausted heap, watching Keller's men swarm him and drag him inside. Vaguely, she heard Juliet's voice call to 'ignore the Burke bitch and just get Matt to Hunt.' Darkness crept over her vision and everything slipped away to oblivion_

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><p>Wow. I didn't even realize how long that was. And how actually decent.<p>

If you didn't catch that, by the way, Elizabeth shot Keller and the bullet nicked his spine, causing lower body paralysis.

Reviews are love. Like, seriously. I live off them.

-D.A.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer- none

AN- Sorry it took so long. I took a few liberties with the timeline of Neal's past that haven't been expanded on in the show. Basically, Neal was a con and running with Keller before he met Kate. You guys are going to hate Juliet even more this chapter ^-^ R&R and enjoy!

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><p>"Remember the days Caffrey?" Keller sighed as set his gun down onto the bed. Since Juliet came back with a bullet nick to her leg, they'd been easing their prisoner off the sedatives. Enough to make him moderately conscious and feel pain. As it turns out, the Burke's were harder to persuade than he anticipated, so the con was stepping up his game at the cost of his former friend. "Remember the days when you and I ran the world? No one knew it of course, but we had more dirt on the politicians than anyone." The blue collar con gave a nostalgic smile. "You were not such a girl around my guns and had no problem sleeping with people to get into somewhere. Then there was the Lawrence, Kansas job."<p>

Neal stirred, his fellow con's words evidently piercing his conscious. Keller grinned and began cleaning his gun.

"Simple, really. It was hardly anything fancy." The blue-collar shrugged. "You find a pretty receptionist to show you the place, jam up a lock in the gallery, and get back and start working. I would be working on security and weapons, and then we'd go. But you had to go and pick the wrong receptionist didn't you Caffrey? Madison Singer. A perky 23 year old with long blonde hair and a hint of an Irish accent who you had feelings for." Keller twirled his handgun and snapped the magazine into place with a crack.

"It's a shame she got caught in my line of fire. Her and her 4 year old kid, Nick." Matthew gazed at Caffrey with a glare similar to pity and disgust, then turned his chair and rolled to the door where Dr. Hunt quivered with anticipation. "I'm getting the bullet removed Neal." He glanced back, violence bleeding from his eyes.

"It seems the Burke's might get caught in my line of fire."

* * *

><p>Juliet cocked her gun, gazing down at the blue eyed man without a flicker of pity in her eyes. This job was not supposed to go on this long. It was supposed to be relatively easy. All of the other families whose kids had been held ransom paid up instantaneously. Then again, Neal wasn't technically the Burke's son and the Serenity drive was more than just a bargaining chip. It held the fate of hers and Matt's careers on it. Peter Burke had seen it, but unless he looked in its contents, they couldn't use it as evidence. And the only two who could identify them are Mrs. Burke, and the lovely man in a state of semi-consciousness before her.<p>

"Hi Neal." The blonde whispered, leaning down over his stirring form. Her pink lips were inches from his, causing her breath to tease his face. "My name's Juliet. Juliet Tyler. We're gonna have so much fun together." A soft giggle escaped her mouth as she reached down and popped out two of Neal's stiches. Caffrey's blue eyes flew open and a pained groan leaked from his mouth. "But before I get too ahead of myself, we need an audience don't we? How about Elizabeth?"

"L-lle-leavvee her 'lone." Neal choked out, a slur causing his words to run together. His glazed eyes focused at El's name, glaring exhausted and pained daggers at his tormentor. "You ssttay-y 'way f-fr-from her."

The blonde's eyebrows rose up in surprise at his statement. Not many could fight sedatives as powerful as Hunt's, especially after being in a coma and having them pumped into you for days. He had determination. Lots of it. That meant he'd be better to play with.

Another stich popped under her fingernails, causing a sharp gasp.

"I'll do what I like Caffrey." Tyler hissed venomously. "Ricardo! Get in here and help Neal to the car. We're going to get the wife. Bring a gun."

* * *

><p>Juliet reached into her pocket, pulling out Neal's cell phone. Keller had messed with it and deactivated tracking so the FBI couldn't use the second easiest way to find him. The first easiest, his anklet, had been modified to suit their needs. That way, on the off chance The Burke's won and got their precious surrogate son back, they'd have to deal with that little alteration.<p>

"Ready?" The southern blonde turned to the large man standing next to her. Neal was pinned to Ricardo's chest by a muscular arm wrapped around his upper chest and a handgun pressed to his temple. His blue eyes were darting around, glazed and confused. He was hopelessly lost due to his blurry vision and total disorientation.

"Make the call." He grunted, tightening his grip on the con and his gun. Juliet grinned, and then pressed the speed dial 3 button. Elizabeth.

X x X

"_Oh my god. Neal?"_

"_Guess again Lizzie. Although, if you wanna see blue-eyes again, open your door."_

"_Juliet."_

"_Try anything, and I'll put a bullet in him. His head this time."_

"_Ell? El dd-don'tt."_

"_Neal? Hun, is that you."_

"_Come outside Mrs. Burke."_

"_Okay. I'm opening the door."_

X x X

Elizabeth shifted uneasily, her eyes darting fearfully from Juliet, to Neal, and then to her thug. She was exhausted and heartbroken. When the caller id had read Neal, for a moment she had hoped…. But instead she heard Juliet's voice. Then Neal's gasping, broken voice that matched the ones that had haunted her dreams since that night. That, and now Peter collapsing in the street after the gunshot. Last night had been rough after Juliet shot Peter. He'd shift from tense and angry to worried and over protective in a split second. Vaguely, she wondered if this was how Neal felt around the FBI agents. Half the time they were out to get him and the other half they were his friends. It was no wonder he had turned to the one constant he had had his entire conning career when Peter had accused him before he'd known the truth about the treasure-Mozzie. She had walked on thin ice the whole rest of the evening and night, being especially careful about her answers to everything. He'd wanted to know a lot about how Neal had gotten in, how Neal had taken the guards out, mainly stuff about the escape. The agent hardly spoke a word, and when he had it was about that night. It seemed as though he was trying to justify his original anger and unsurprised feelings that Neal didn't come home, when in reality, he had given everything up for him and his wife.

"_How did Neal blow up the room with Serenity?"_

"_I was in the hallway, I never saw a thing."_

"_So he left you unprotected and alone in a hallway that guards could walk down at any moment?"_

"_I had his gun. He had taken out the guards. I was safe."_

"…_.."_

When El had woken up the next day, Peter was gone and a note was left on the pillow saying he was going to talk to Diana and Jones about the situation. Mozzie was working on the drive, so El was on her own. That scared her a little bit. Now, standing outside of her home with a gun to Neal's head held by Juliet's thug, she realized she had been right to be scared.

"What's it going to be, Princess?" Juliet asked smugly, kicking Caffrey's shin with her high heel. His glazed eyes rolled towards Elizabeth, not really comprehending the situation, but pleading with whoever was there to end his pain. Blood was soaking through the bandages on his chest where the bullet had gone in and sweat and tears trickled down his face. The sedative had him so far gone he didn't even know who was there. "Are you going to come with us and let Neal live a bit longer? Or are you going to make me shoot Caffrey, again, and have me drag you? Your choice."

"Okay." Mrs. Burke stated, a slight tremor rolling through her voice. "I'll come."

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><p><em>So? Whatta you guys think? I really like it. Well, the ending is a little jerky… <em>

_Anyways, Juliet is gonna hit all-time bitch high next chapter. Just warning you now. _

_Oh, and Peter, his Suits, and Mozzie are going to work together as a flawless (not really) team._

_It's going to be good._

_Review Please?_


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